[Lifestyle] 5 Reasons Why is Letters better than Emails

With emails, social media, and digital communication being so speedy and convenient these days, people seem to have lost the habit of writing snail mails. I found this unfortunate because writing physical mails is such a fun thing to do and it really shows how much you care! Here are 5 reasons why I think we should keep doing it the old fashion way.

1. A Personal Touch

Although nowadays there are many ways to personalize our emails, the outcome is never as good as a handwritten mail. It is not only because of the fact that it is handwritten which makes it so personal, but also because you get to choose the paper you write the message on, as well as the envelope that it is sealed in. A handwritten mail is a product that should be able to reflect your personality and to distribute your personal charm.

2. To Show Sincerity

The fact that sending emails is so easy and handy these days is what makes handwritten mails so well appreciated. This is because instead of using the handy shortcut, one chose to actually spend the time and effort to write a physical mail, and have paid to get the post delivered. Because of the time and thought that was put into a snail mail, it is a great way to show your sincerity. Next time when you are writing a thank you note, try handwriting one instead of emailing. Although the later will still be perfectly fine and gets the job done, a handwritten one will just be so much more special.

3. To Ensure Attention

High volume of emails floods in and out in our busy everyday lives. It is common and easy that some get lost in a sea of emails. Have you ever tried emailing a former supervisor or professor for a letter of recommendation and did not receive a reply? This is a lot more common than you think. A lot of times it’s not because they do not wish to do so (in fact, if this was the case they will be rather direct and open about it), but because of their busy schedules, our request got lost and forgotten in a pile of other emails which is constantly flooding their inbox. On the contrary, we tend to receive a lot less physical mails than their digital counterparts these days. Therefore, if you are trying to make a request and would like to increase your chance, try sending a snail mail instead; by doing so you show sincerity, as well as making sure you have your target audience’s attention. That being said, it is still a good idea to include your email address in the mail so that the receiver could easily reply by shooting you an email, which will be beneficial to both of you. On one hand, you will be able to receive a reply sooner; while on the other hand, it makes the job of the other party easier.

4. Security

This might sound weird at first, but when you really think about it, who would try to intercept and dig through your letters when doing so the digital way is so much easier? Not to mention that forging a digital document/ mail is also much easier than forging a physical one; which is one reason why a lot of institutions prefer a hard copy of your qualification over digital ones. Another thing is that to intercept an email conversation between two parties without any one of them noticing is easy; but when it comes to physical mails, especially when the mail has a personal seal on it, this is a lot more difficult to achieve because a broken seal will certainly catch someone’s attention. (If your opponent is from the MI6 of FBI though, this probably do not apply haha). Therefore, if you are trying to send others something important and/ or confidential, a physical mail that is properly sealed could possibly a better option.

5. To Actually Get to Use the Fancy Stationery that We Bought.

Let’s be honest, at some point in our lives we would have or have had obsessions of some sort. One of mine is that I cannot help but to pull out my purse whenever I see a pretty envelope or some nice letter paper in stores. Besides, I probably own more wax seal stamps than anyone would ever need in their lives. Writing letters gave me an opportunity to actually use these stationary that I purchased; and by doing so, it gave me a perfect excuse to keep purchasing more of them!